Yet another reason not to visit Mississippi: 46 percent of the Republicans believe that interracial marriage should be against the law. No kidding. And people who support the Tea Party — the majority of whom are Republicans — say they aren’t racists.

Nice try, guys.

The organization, Public Policy Polling conducted the poll recently among both Republicans and Democrats in the state. The results polling the Democrats have not yet been released.

Only 40 percent of Republicans think it should be legal, while 14 percent remain unsure. Guess who is the favorite among those who want to ban interracial marriage? You guessed it: Sarah Palin. According to the poll, her favorability among those who can’t stand to see a mixed marriage skyrockets to +55 at 74/19, while Mitt Romney’s favorability is much lower at +4 (44/40)

As a nation, we’ve come far since the days of the civil rights movement and integration. We are a nation of equals, or we’re supposed to be, at least. It is a sad testament to the bigotry and racism that still exists in our country, when such a question must even be asked.

Seeing as how the majority of the respondents are over the age of 46, it stands to reason that old people in Mississippi a). don’t like black people, b). the Republican party is the party of old farts, or c). not enough young Republicans could find the time to respond. Either way, it’s a very telling poll.

Interestingly, among respondents who hate the idea of mixed marriage, Sarah Palin was a favorite to run for President. Go figure.

It will be interesting to see the results of the same poll among Democrats.